a skeleton in the cupboard
标题： a skeleton in the cupboard 家丑;不可告人的丑事
问题：Who was Sebastian?
答案：This is a reading skeleton
We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years. The English language possesses a vivid saying to describe this sort of situation.The terrible secret is called 'a skeleton in the cupboard'.At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined.The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.
lt is all very well for such things to occur in fiction.To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn, but few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard is George Carlton, and he is very pound of the fact. George studied medicine in his youth. Instead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories.l once spend an uncomfortable weekend which l shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guestroom which, he said, was rarely used.He told me to unpack my things and then come down to dinner.After l had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers,l decided to hang one of the tow suits l had brought with me in the cupboard. l opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified.A skeleton was dangling before my eyes.The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than "a terrible secret'; this was a read skeleton! But George was unsympathetic. 'Oh, that,' he said with a smile as if he were talking about an old friend.'That's Sebastian.You forget that l was a medical student once upon a time.'
New Words:
Sebastian [səˈbæstʃən]
n.（男子教名，源于拉丁语，在西班牙最为流行；它的法语变体是Bastien和Bastian）
respectable [rɪˈspektəbl] (注意K音！！！）
secret [ˈsiːkrət] (注意K音！！！）
concealed [kənˈsiːld] 隐藏;隐瞒;掩盖
cover sth that you don't know what it is.
5. possesses [pəˈzesɪz] 有;拥有;具有(特质);攫住;支配;控制
6. skeleton [ˈskelɪtn] 骨骼;骨架;骨骼标本;骨瘦如柴的人(或动物);(建筑物等的)骨架，框架
7. heroine [ˈheroʊɪn] 女主角
8. George Carlton 乔治 · 卡尔顿
9. detective [dɪˈtektɪv] 侦探;警探;私人侦探
a person, especially a police officer, whose job is to examine crimes and catch criminals
10. stacked [stækt] (使)放成整齐的一叠
11. petrified [ˈpetrɪfaɪd] 非常害怕;恐慌的;石化的
12. dangling [ˈdæŋɡlɪŋ] 悬垂;悬挂;悬荡;悬摆;提着(某物，任其自然下垂或摆动);来回摆动着
13. sway [sweɪ] (使)摇摆，摇动;说服;使相信;使动摇
14. leap [liːp] 跳;跳跃;跳越;
15. dropping [ˈdrɑːpɪŋ] (意外地)落下，掉下，使落下;(故意)降下
16. dashed [dæʃt] 急奔;急驰;猛冲;猛
17. unsympathetic [ˌʌnˌsɪmpəˈθetɪk] 无同情心的; 不表示同情的;